spacer

Blog

Blog
End of an era...
Last modified: 06 Jul 2008

As you will probably have seen by now, Delirious? have announced that the band will come to an end in 2009. On Friday night I received a phone call from Jon Thatcher telling me the news. Here are my thoughts as the information started to sink in.

Friday, 4th July 2008
9:00pm Jon calls me. He's in the USA with his family. In the background I can hear an 'Independence Day' party in full swing. "I have some news", he says in his typical understated manner. During our 10 minute conversation he conveys to me the bands decision to call it a day. I can tell Jon is still slightly taken aback by the news himself. Even a few weeks ago the band didn't imagine the end was insight. As Jon says, they always knew this would happen one day, but they didn't expect it to happen so soon. But in the past few days the decision has clearly come to a head. Martin in particular has a busy family life with six young children, and mixed with a desire to see the CompassionArt charity full fill its potential, has clearly been reconsidering his future priorities. The band all have interests they'd like to pursue. I'm lost for words, and although we chat for a while neither of us really knows what to say to each other. Jon even jokes that they waited for me to reach 50 gigs before making the announcement. I try to mumble a cohesive reply, but probably fail. He says the news will be announced at their church on Sunday and asks me to hold of publishing the news until then.

9:30pm I talk about it with my wife Melissa. She says I should put all my Delirious? promos and memorabilia on ebay as there will be more demand for it now. She's joking. I think.

10:45pm Sitting watching TV but not really paying attention. My mind is reliving memories. Concerts I've been to, experiences I've had. I've been running Delirious.org.uk since 1997. That means for over 11 years Delirious? have been a huge part of my everyday life. It's a strange feeling to know that something that's been so constant for so long is coming to an end. There's the obvious sadness, and a slight emptiness. Yet I also feel an incredible sense of privilege. I've been fortunate enough to have so many unique experiences with Delirious? I remember watching the band sign copies of the 'Deeper' single in a Portsmouth record store. A few weeks later I stood inside Wembley Stadium and watched them perform. I remember listening to the radio on a Sunday evening to hear 'See The Star' reach number 16 in the charts. Then there was the call from Jon to say, "We're supporting Bon Jovi!". I saw them do that twice. Once in the rain at Milton Keynes, and again inside the impressive Millennium Stadium. Then there was another call from Jon, "Do you fancy a trip to Canada?" and a few weeks later I found myself sat on a plane with them for an experience of a life time. Memories of concerts at Greenbelt, the NEC, the Albert Hall. Gigs in football stadiums, tiny night clubs and on the beach. So many things that I'll remember forever. Maybe I'll blog about some of those experiences in more detail in the coming weeks.

12:00am In bed I drift off to sleep wondering how the final concert will feel. Knowing that I'm watching them on stage for the final time will be a truly emotional night.

Sunday, 6th July 2008
10:30am It's official. A press release lands in my inbox and the announcement goes up on Delirious.co.uk.

I suppose it will take a while for the news to really sink it. I've been a fan for so long and I can't quite believe there will never be a new album or another tour to look forward to. But I'm grateful for the amazing memories, and that's what I want to dwell on right now.